## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** ## **From 01/08/2023 Period start date To 31/08/2024 Period end date** ## **Charity name: Portsmouth Choral Union** ## **Charity registration number: 266974** ## **Objectives and Activities** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The objects of the Society will be to
advance and maintain public education in,
and appreciation of, the art and science of
music in all its aspects by any means the
trustees see fit, including through the
presentation of public concerts and recitals.| |Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|In 2023-2024 we were back to a full normal
schedule of rehearsals and concerts,
although we needed to be more mindful of
costs than before the pandemic and cost-
of-living crises. It was a year of
collaboration, with a joint concert in London
with the Medici choir in December 2023
and another one with the Consort of 12 in
Chichester in July 2024. And we had
several open rehearsals and a Come and
Sing event to allow non-members to come
and enjoy the experience of singing in a big
choir with us.| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The trustees have had regard to the
Charity Commission guidance on public
benefit.| **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: SORP reference **N/A** Para 1.38 Policy on grant making |||| |---|---|---| |Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|**N/A**| |Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|The charity is entirely run by members on a
voluntary basis. Many members regularly
volunteer in roles in fundraising, behind-
the-scenes organisation and helping with
audiences and refreshments at events.| |Other||| ## **Achievements and Performance** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|We started 2023-2024 very aware that the
choir was down on numbers of members
and that this was impacting both
performances and finances. As a result we
had a big recruitment drive with open
rehearsals at which anyone who wanted
could come and try singing with us. This
added several members to the normal
recruitment process, as did our_Carmina_
_Burana_Come-and-Sing event in St Jude’s
Church, Southsea in January 2024. Our
new format for this event, with an all-
afternoon opportunity to learn and rehearse
the piece followed by a communal tea and
a short concert is proving very popular with
members and visitors alike.
Another decision for the year to was to be
bold and choose to rehearse some popular
works that are a bit more expensive to put
on, again to attract singers but also to
increase audiences. To this end our first
concert of the year in early December was
Verdi’s_Requiem_, and we did it as a
collaborative concert in Holy Trinity church,
Sloane Square, London with the Medici
Choir. The concert sold out and was much
enjoyed by the choir and the audience.
We followed it with Handel’s Messiah as a
Christmas concert in our normal venue, St
Mary’s Church in Portsmouth, with the full
orchestra of Southern Pro Musica which
also drew an appreciative audience.
After Christmas we planned a slightly
different format of two shorter spring| concerts with organ and soloists. The first was the modern St John Passion by Bob Chilcott, a work consciously referencing the great Bach St John Passion but with a modern style and sensibility. Solos from Nicholas Sharratt as the Evangelist and Johnny Herford as Christ told the story while the choir acted as crowd and the audience joined in with hymns woven into the piece’s structure in a truly involving work. Our second short concert was a selection of English anthems followed by Duruflé’s _Requiem_ accompanied on the St Mary’s organ by our Deputy Music Director and Organist Ian Richardson. A proportion of the choir then undertook a tour of Brittany with the same programme, performing in the very different soundscape of Quimper cathedral. The tour, as all previous tours, was self-financed by payments from the attendees and did not use the choir’s charitable funds, although the retiring collection made at the concert was donated back to the choir. Our final concert of the year was another collaboration, this time Handel’s less wellknown Oratorio _Saul_ , performed with the early-music orchestra the Consort of 12. The concert was part of the Chichester Festival and performed in St Paul’s church Chichester. The performance really came alive with the well-trained singing of the choir, the skilled accompaniment from the orchestra and the expert dramatic performances of the soloists. This sadly was our farewell performance with Ian Richardson who is leaving to take up a new post; luckily we have been able to secure the service of a new Deputy Music Director and accompanist who joins us in the autumn. **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|In 2023-2024 we held five concerts and a
Come and Sing that gave audiences
chance to hear live classical music
performances from eras raging from the
Baroque to the 21stCentury. We also found
ways to offer opportunities to guests to
come and enjoy singing with us and
collaborated with a London choir and an
early-music orchestra. We worked hard to
keep this close to our annual budget.| |---|---|---| |||| |---|---|---| |Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|The choir is heavily reliant on membership
subscriptions and tickets sales. We also
hold in-house fundraising events but find it
hard to fundraise externally. We have
managed to increase membership in 2023-
24 and are working hard to improve ticket
sales.| |Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|| |Other||| ## **Financial Review** |**Financial Review**||| |---|---|---| |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|Our policy is to try to hold one year’s
running costs in reserve; due to rising costs
this is becoming harder as our reserve only
grows with investment income but we
avoided having to use any of it in this year.| |Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|We aim to maintain the minimum of one
season’s running costs in hand to act as a
reserve against years when concerts are
more expensive and against unforeseen
events.| |Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|£ 50066.56 as of 25/06/2024| |Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|N/A| |Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|N/A| |Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|We continue to have lower audiences than
before the pandemic, apparently a wider
problem across the classical music world.| |**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:| |---|---|---| |The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|Member subscriptions and (normally) ticket
sales provide the majority of our income.
We also receive donations from members
and supporters and from the Portsmouth
Lottery. We also have a ‘Friends’ scheme
of supporters; this was relaunched 2 years
ago and is beginning to grow.| |Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|We have one investment with a fund
tailored for charitable investments.| |||| |---|---|---| |A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|With outgoings continuing to rise and
audiences still low we are having to work
hard to maintain our reserves.| |Other||| ## **Structure, Governance and Management** |Description of charity’s
trusts:||| |---|---|---| |Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|
Para 1.25|Written constitution dated 30thJanuary
2018| |How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Unincorporated association| |Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|All Trustees are elected at our Annual
General Meeting of members or by
Extraordinary Vote of members following
any mid-term resignations.| **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees|Para 1.51|All Trustees are made aware of their
responsibilities under the law as Charity
Trustees using guidance from the Charity
Commission.| |---|---|---| |The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|We co-operate with other musical groups
and other choral charities in the area to
avoid clashes of concert dates as far as
possible and to collaborate on selected
projects| |Relationship with any
related parties|Para 1.51|N/A| |Other||| **Reference and Administrative details** |Charity name|Portsmouth Choral Union| |---|---| |Other name the charity uses|PCU| |Registered charitynumber|266974| |Charity’s principal address|21, Second Avenue, Emsworth, Hampshire, PO10 8HP| ||| ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
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11|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Mrs Sylvia Mary
Lock|Chair||| ||Mrs Jane Helliwell|DeputyChair||| ||Dr Andrea
Hegedus|Treasurer||| ||Mrs Sonia
Schofield|Registrar||| ||Mrs Lois Houston|Marketing and
PublicityOfficer||| ||Dr Alison Barker|Secretary||| ||Julie Ann Smith|Ticket Manager|From 21stNovember
2023|| ||Carolyn Ann
Keyzor|Soprano
Representative||| ||Lesley Evelyn
Chapman|Alto Representative|From 3rd October 2023|| ||Dr David Gweirydd
Griffiths|Tenor
Representative|From 3rdOctober 2023|| ||Mr James
Sweasey|Bass Representative||| |||||| |||||| – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved **Director name** Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity **Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year** ## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets ## **Additional information (optional)** ## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** **Type of Name Address adviser** **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** ## **Exemptions from disclosure** Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details ## **Other optional information** ## **Declarations** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** |**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (eg Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**
**Date**||| |---|---|---| ||Alison Margaret Barker|Sylvia Mary Lock| ||

Secretary|Chair| ||29/05/2025|| ||29/05/2025|| Pottsmouth Chornl Unlon Asi•ts and U•blllll•i ust 2023 tr• 31•tJul 2024 1st Sectlort B SlatementofAs%ets•xl Llabllltles Bl Cash Funds CAF Cash Accounts CAF Gold Actount Cash ank 7 291.15 5 090.47 200.00 4 272.12 19411.27 200.00 ur BZOiherMone nts kn Advanr*: StM8 700.00 800.00 83 In¥estrnentAssets M & G Charknnd 49 859.24 45 922.20 84Assets R¢taned forthe sown use ard urchased 13103120 a¢t audK>hub urd)ased 16110120 Ke 678.58 311.86 B5 Llabilltoes £crtsal- PRS & Recordln Actrual- Bookkee in Accrual-stora Creditor- Memberstravel funds 150.00 250.00 150.00 250.00 5.072.54 26,577.03 Tot4 ofAssets le&%Llabllltles 57.668.32 44.619.00 Slgn*ures nedb on8 or trM) trustees on behalf of all the INste89 natur Print Nar rDval Date q)oL 3 D/J-/£é- Paftsm¢xth Choral Unlon R•c•lpts and pAymonts From 1•1 Av u8t 2023 to 31$t Jul 2024 Sertlon A Re¢el dp Al Re¢elpts Sub tion$ Sub donations Don8tk)ns 8nd S onsorsh Gfft Akd Fund RaK8in erchandiso Sales 100aub E*undin Ports￿OUth Lotte IncoTh from Recx)rd Income from Pro ratt￿$ Incom8 from Lt¢ra In￿me from F￿ nds Subs 22 875.54 452.99 2 882.27 4 177.48 0.00 1.48 430.00 325.04 621.50 24.56 17 875.50 280.00 530.20 S44.20 975.67 16.44 260.00 571.01 583.50 83.74 975.17 465.36 179.68 199.51 149.35 0.00 917.16 483.58 474.46 4 881.74 0.00 I￿nS Interest from Investrr*ntslS8V Bank Interest 39 679.34 23 689.33 A2 Aget and In%*stmentSaes ProfesSK)nal Fees Don8t*)ns Hall Hre Story4 e ofsla 13 008.00 0.00 2 460.10 1 $00.00 1051.53 1132.68 675.00 0.00 11710.00 0.00 2 100.73 1 $00.00 Sundri8S Insurance Red scarves Subscri t*)n5 kcha es 1331.25 634.00 0.00 0.00 60.00 85.45 2 384.13 47.96 466.40 250.00 0.00 0.00 121.50 0.00 e5 Loss f￿M InVestment￿Sayin Admn and Stal>)ne Internal fundraisin Bookkee l Accountan Def￿11 from RecordRI Def￿1 from Pro ranvres Oefui from Tour Refunds Defidt from Concerts 273.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 6 408.01 11368.13 26 830.02 33 003.69 A4 Awtand In￿Stment Purchases Net of Recei tgPa nls 13 049.32 314.36 Balance BIFYKI frDm Previ)us Year 44 619.00 53 933.36 Fund Balance Ca￿d forlward 57 668.32 44 619.00 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independenl Examiner's Report Report to the trustèesl members of On accounts for the year ended si'° Socw Charity no {If any) 1669?F Set out on pages Ifeir.iJrii￿￿ir b> mic1￿ Iliv ri(iOP ivffi..brJry of Ailij 1SrJii316hi l ￿port to the trustees on my examinatK)n of the accounts of the above charity (Ihe Trust.) for the year ended si 07 Z<